Something Beautiful
by Miya Morana
Summary: JoXAnna. Anna escaped from Heaven's reeducation camp. As she keeps an eye on Sam and Dean, she's enthralled by Jo's bright soul and can't let her die in Carthage.


**Title:** Something Beautiful  
**Author:** Miya Morana  
**Beta:** krystalicekitsu (livejournal)  
**Fandom:** Supernatural  
**Pairing:** Jo/Anna  
**Rating:** R  
**Summary:** Anna escaped from Heaven's reeducation camp. As she keeps an eye on Sam and Dean, she's enthralled by Jo's bright soul and can't let her die in Carthage.  
**Word Count:** 3851

It's Gabriel who springs her out of Heaven's equivalent of reeducation camp, leaving something that looks like her, talks like her, almost _thinks_ like her in her place to fool her captors. She has no idea how long that thing (Gabriel called it a Doll, chuckling like it's some sort of joke Anna doesn't get) will be able to pass for her though, which means she better go back into hiding, and deep this time.

Though now _she's_ the one with a debt to the archangel.

"How can I repay you?" Anna asks, because she'd rather not owe the now-Trickster a favor any longer than she has too.

Gabriel is leaning against the wall of the villa he brought her to. The place is so heavily warded against any kind of supernatural detection that Anna has no idea where they are, though she can see a huge lake through the French windows that open on a small private creek.

"I'd like you to keep an eye on the Winchesters for a while," Gabriel says, unwrapping a candy bar. "Just make sure they don't get blown to little pieces when they try to go after Lucifer with a demon-killing gun."

"I though you were sitting this one out?" Anna frowns, watching her brother munch on his candy bar like he doesn't care in the least what her answer will be. Though to be honest, Anna isn't sure he's exactly leaving her a choice in the matter.

Gabriel shrugs. "I am. This is why _I_ will not intervene anymore." He tosses the candy wrap in the air and snaps it away. "Listen, just watch over them for a few days, just until they figure out the Colt is no use and get out of wherever they are alive, and then you can be on your merry way to some tropical island or something."

She knows this is a bad idea, there's no way for this to end well.

"All right," she agrees, gritting her teeth. "Where are they right now? I can't sense them."

"I know. Castiel did quite a nice job there." He snaps and throws her a black electronic gizmo. She catches it and looks at the small screen displaying a map. "I put a GPS tracker on their car." Gabriel's smirk is so wide it's almost scary.

0o0o

She finds them in Sioux Falls, at Robert Singer's house, and smiles at that. This seems to be the place the Winchesters always go back to when they need a safe haven. As she slips into the old house, cloaked from everyone's senses, she recognizes the hunter from the picture of him and his wife she found the last time she was here.

It feels like a lifetime ago. It sort of was, too. She didn't even know who she really was when she first set foot in this house, and even after the blind medium had given her back most of her memory she'd still been graceless when she left. Now that she's an angel again, Anna can see all the layers of emotions on the house. The most recent one is a mix of resolve and purpose, tinged with a hint of underlying sadness. Underneath, there are still the traces of the despair Bobby Singer felt when his wife died. And almost completely erased by time and darkness, there's the atmosphere of the house when it was still new, all bright and happy.

There are other people in the house, two women. With just one look Anna knows they're mother and daughter, and that they love each other very much even though they've had their fair share of fights.

The mother is strong and looks over the whole group as a mother-hen over her chicks. The daughter... the daughter has the brightest, most beautiful soul Anna's ever seen in a human being.

She can't take her eyes off her; this woman is enthralling. Castiel doesn't seem to see it. How can he not be spellbound by her if he does? Is her brother already so far fallen? After all, he can't even feel her presence. Or maybe he's just too absorbed by Dean.

Dean, who's using a lousy line to try and get into bed with the blonde woman, with Joanna. Jo. The same line Anna herself used when she slept with him, but that's beside the point. A wave of possessiveness rushes through Anna and she's relieved when Jo turns him down.

The angel watches over Jo through the night, and flies right next to Ellen's car the next day as they drive all the way to Carthage.

She notices the reapers before Castiel does. They are everywhere, all facing the same direction, waiting. A shiver runs through her spine, a remnant of her past humanity. When her brother wanders off by himself she hesitates. Jo seems safe enough. She and her mother are armed and ready, the reapers aren't paying them any attention, and Castiel is most likely going to get into trouble.

Her brother has changed so much since the last time she saw him. Back then he was only beginning to glimpse the possibility of thinking for himself. He was still too afraid to rebel yet, which is why he had sold her off to their superiors. Now here he is, ready to stand up to Lucifer himself. Anna's proud of him.

She isn't going to let him roam this dead town on his own.

Anna was right, it doesn't take Castiel more than ten minutes before he gets caught in a ring of holy fire. She curses under her breath, about to reveal herself to help out her brother, when she feels it. Hatred that burns cold, so cold it chills her bones. She doesn't dare to move, doesn't dare to breathe or even think as Lucifer walks into the room.

The Devil taunts Castiel over and over, for hours, and Anna can't do anything. She wonders if the humans she's supposed to be looking after are okay, if Jo is okay, and it eats at her but she can't move, Lucifer will know if she does. She isn't strong enough to fight him; no one but Michael is.

A demon girl walks in at some point, says something about having the Winchesters pinned down for now, and Anna's heart skips a beat. Is the demon not mentioning the women because she doesn't think they're relevant or because she's already taken care of them? Is Jo, her beautiful Jo alright? She concentrates, and she can feel Jo's soul, bright as ever but shaky. She's alive, but in grave distress.

Eventually, Lucifer leaves Castiel under the watch of the demon girl. Anna doesn't think twice; she can come back for Castiel later. Jo's soul has been flickering more and more in the last half-hour. Anna flies as fast as she can, finds her in a store being invaded by hellhounds. Her mother is holding her unconscious body, ready to blow them both to Hell with the infernal beasts.

Anna takes in the whole scene, Jo's blood on the floor and the gashing wound in her chest and belly, the gas filling the store, the bombs ready to explode. Jo is dying. Jo has been marked by a hellhound and she's dying. And death by hellhound means a one-way ticket to Hell.

She can't let that happen.

As Ellen presses the detonator, Anna surges to wrap her grace around Jo.

0o0o

It feels like darkness eating at her from all sides, like falling at a speed so great she cannot even comprehend it, like burning alive and freezing to death at the same time. It feels like her soul is being ripped apart, her body shattered to tiny useless pieces. She always assumed dying would be quiet, the world fainting back into nothingness.

Then it all slows down, the darkness and the falling and the being destroyed bit by bit, it all recedes to the back of her mind until all that's left is a comforting warmth wrapped tightly around her, sheltering her from the horrors that were waiting for her.

Jo's eyes blink open.

There's a white ceiling above her head, blank and smooth and perfect. Jo is lying on something soft. There's movement somewhere on her right, but when she turns her head to see who's there it feels like an entire herd of elephants are stomping into her skull. She groans.

"Shhh, don't try to move just yet." There's a soft, feminine voice against her ear and a cool hand on her forehead. The elephants seem to calm down a little bit, and Jo blinks again. She catches the sight of fiery red hair and the curve of a soft mouth.

"Rest now." A peaceful darkness falls over her.

When she wakes up again she can move her head without feeling more than a little dizzy. There's a woman sitting on the edge of the bed, a woman with soft hands, fiery red hair and worried eyes. As soon as she notices Jo moving she helps her sitting up. Her hands are gentle against Jo's sore back and she brings a glass of water to her lips.

Jo drinks slowly, carefully. Her throat is sore like she's been screaming, though she has no recollection of that. Now that she thinks of it, she cannot remember how she ended up here– wherever 'here' is.

"What happened?" she asks, her voice cracking on the words. "Who are you?" Jo feels weak, but she tries not to lean too much against the arm wrapped around her back. The woman brushes a strand of blond off Jo's face, tucking it behind her ear.

"My name is Anna, and I'm an angel." Jo's body goes rigid, her senses on alert even though she's exhausted and hurt. Anna laughs, a light sound like bells in the wind. "Don't worry, I'm on the good side. On the humans' side. I was trying to keep an eye on Castiel and the boys, but I couldn't let you die, now, could I?"

Jo's hand brushes against her stomach, remembering the searing pain of the wound there. She slips her fingers under her shirt, finds only soft skin. "What about my mom? And Sam, and Dean? Where are they?" _Are they all dead?_ It's the only reason she can think of for not having them all here, fussing over her.

Anna's hand gently rubs her back. "They're fine, don't worry. But your soul was about to be torn down into pieces, the hellhound's wound had already started the job, so I had to bring you here to put it back together. This is a safe place, a sanctuary if you will. But your soul is still healing, and as long as the process isn't over, no one can get in or out"

"So it's just you and me?" Jo asks. She isn't sure how she feels about that. This Anna seems nice enough, all warmth and comfort next to her, but she doesn't know the angel. "For how long?"

"For as long as it takes," Anna says softly, gently squeezing Jo's shoulder. "You need to rest now, your body isn't completely healed yet either." She kisses the top of Jo's head, then helps her down in the comfortable bed. Jo's eyelids are heavy, dragging her back to sleep. She takes into her dreams the light feeling of soft lips against her own.

0o0o

She doesn't know exactly how much time passes, but every time she wakes up Anna is there, sitting by her side, patiently helping her to sit up. Sometimes she brings her water, sometimes delicious food. She helps her eat at first, all patience and care, then when Jo gets stronger she just keeps her company.

After a few days, Jo can get up and walk for short periods of time. She has to lean against Anna at first, the angel supporting her weight as if it were nothing. Anna's arm around her waist is warm, and if Jo leans into her embrace a bit more than she has to, well, the angel doesn't say a word on it.

The sanctuary house has no window, but the walls seem to radiate sunlight, so Jo isn't experiencing the sort of depression she always has when she can't see the sun for too long. Besides Jo's bedroom, there's a small kitchen always full of food, a huge living room with an entire wall covered in bookshelves (containing mostly novels) and an extravagant bathroom. The whole place is just spacious enough as to not drive the hunter mad, but small enough it isn't strange that Anna seems to be in the same room as her ninety-nine per cent of the time.

"What do you do when I'm asleep?" Jo asks one day as she's lying on the couch, her head resting on Anna's lap as the angel reads out loud with a soothing voice. Anna lowers her book, looks down at Jo with a fond smile.

"I read, mostly. Sometimes I watch you sleep. You're so beautiful, with your golden hair spread out around you like a halo." Jo feels her cheeks burn her as Anna brushes her hair with her warm fingers. She sits up, turns to face the angel.

"Anna..." She trails off, unsure of what she wants to say. Anna just smiles at her, trailing her fingertips against Jo's cheek before raising her book, resuming her reading. Jo gathers her legs under her on the couch, her heart beating at full speed in her chest as the angel's calm voice washes over her.

She sees it more clearly after that. The way Anna's eyes never leave her, the way her hands tend to stray, somehow always finding their way to Jo's skin. The way she blushes ever so slightly when Jo comes out of the shower, a simple towel wrapped around her body.

Anna's told her about her life. About how she fell, and grew up as a human, unaware of who she really was. Unlike Castiel, she's fully grounded into her human body. She isn't human anymore, but she isn't completely an angel either. She can _feel_.

Jo wonders what the angel would look like, sprawled out on the bed, under her, _feeling_ her. She bets she would be magnificent.

Anna is cooking diner when Jo makes up her mind. She steps behind the angel, wraps an arm around her slender waist and rests her chin on her shoulder, brushing red hair aside.

"Why do you bother cooking anyways? Can't you just wish dinner into existence?" she asks. Her breasts are pressed against Anna's back.

The angel lowers the knife she was using to slice tomatoes. "I enjoy cooking. It's something I used to do with my mother. I find it... soothing." Anna leans back against Jo, exposing her throat, and the hunter takes advantage of that, brushes her lips against the angel's neck.

There are fingers winding with hers on Anna's stomach, and Jo can feel the appreciative hum in Anna's throat as well as hear it. Slowly, as if she feared to spook her, Anna turns around in Jo's arms. Their lips meet. Anna tastes of cinnamon and fresh air against Jo's tongue. She opens her mouth, inviting Jo to deepen the kiss.

Their tongues move together in a slow dance, Anna's hands pulling gently on Jo's hips so she can slip a leg between the hunter's, bringing them even closer. The feel of the angel's breasts against her own is a brand new sensation to Jo, and would probably make her dizzy if Anna's kiss wasn't already doing just that.

They make their way to the bedroom somehow, though Jo manages to lose her shirt somewhere on the way, and she finds out Anna has already kicked off her shoes and socks as she gently pushes her down on the bed.

Anna's skin is soft and warm under Jo's hands and lips, her fingers and mouth are quick and agile. Jo's eyes never leave the angel's as their bodies slide against one another. They're panting, breaths picking up as they come together in a way much more intimate than Jo's ever experienced. She was right, too: Anna looks magnificent as she writhes in the throws of passion.

Later, when they're lying in bed in a tangle of limbs and sheets, Jo smiles against Anna's skin. She made the right choice, she's sure of it. Anna will always be there for her. Christ, she was ready to sacrifice weeks of her time to take care of Jo, and she didn't even know her at the time she made that decision!

"I'm glad you're here with me," she breathes, then kisses Anna's neck.

"And I to be here with you." Anna's arm tightens around Jo's hip.

"I'm not sure what my mom will say about that when we get out, but just so you know? I'm not afraid of her." Jo yawns as she finishes her sentence, snuggles closer to her angel's warm body.

"Your mother is a wise person," Anna reassures her, brushing Jo's hair out of her face. Her voice is a little bit too tight, but Jo is too tired to worry about it.

She yawns again, and drifts into sleep surrounded by warmth.

0o0o

"There's a crack on the ceiling," Jo remarks lightly as she watches Anna prepare the breakfast. "Right above the bed."

"It's nothing to be worried about," the angel says lightly, kissing her on the cheek. "Here, taste this." She picks up a yellow fruit, something tropical that Jo's never seen before, brings it to Jo's lips.

Jo bites into it, her lips brushing Anna's fingertips. The fruit's rich taste rolls on her tongue, juice dripping from the corner of her mouth. She licks it clean, watching Anna's eyes on her, and smiles.

She doesn't seem to notice the time passing as much as before, now. The days seem to blur together, in a whirl of feelings and sensations. Jo learns every curve of Anna's body, all the ways her angel reacts to her touch. They spend long hours in each other's arms, reading aloud or just softly talking.

Anna teaches her how to wield one of her swords. They push the furniture out of the way and spar in the living room. Jo knows that her lover is going easy on her, not putting all of her strengths in her blows, but since she always comes out of these lessons exhausted and sore she doesn't complain.

She doesn't ask how long they still have to stay here. Partly because she knows Anna will tell her when the time comes, but mostly because she isn't really thinking about it, too caught in the joy and the love that fills the sanctuary. She carefully ignores the little voice whispering to her that she just doesn't want to know, that she doesn't want to leave.

She worries about the crack in the ceiling though, she thinks it's getting bigger. Anna waves it off like it doesn't matter, but something about this crack makes Jo uncomfortable. She tries not to think about it as much as she can.

It's early afternoon when their little world crumbles apart. Anna picks up a new book, and Jo puts her head on her angel's lap when she sits. They do that often; Anna's hand would play with Jo's hair or they would twine their fingers together as the angel's voice would create new worlds in front of Jo's eyes. But not this time.

"_Chapter 1, Down the rabbit-hole. Alice was beginning to get tired of sitting by her sis–_"

Jo's eyes close on their own as she sits up abruptly. Before she knows it, she's burying her face in Anna's neck, holding back tears. Anna's hands are on her back, a reassuring warmth that reminds Jo so much of the way her mother used to hold her.

Her mother had been reading her _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ when they got the phone call. She remembers how white Ellen's face was when she came back to Jo's bedroom. She had closed the book and looked down at Jo, her eyes shining from unshed tears as she told her that her father wasn't coming home.

Jo takes several deep breathes to calm herself. Slowly, she leans out of Anna's hold and looks her lover in the eyes.

"I wanna go home, Anna. I want to see my mother and tell her I'm fine, that I didn't abandon her to this war. Don't tell me I'm not ready yet, 'cause I know it's a lie. I know you're just trying to protect me from the war raging on outside."

"You can't leave!" Anna's hands grab her shoulders. She looks desperate. "You can't leave this place, Jo, I swear I'm telling the truth. If I let you go, if you leave this place..." She doesn't finish her sentence, but her eyes are pleading. Her grip on Jo's shoulders his so tight it's painful.

"But I'm right, aren't I? My soul isn't healing anymore, it's just fine! You're the one holding me here!" A sudden anger flares through her and she pushes against Anna's chest, trying to make her let go, though she's not sure who she's angry at exactly.

There's the terrible sound of something breaking, and Jo looks up to see a new, long crack in the wall of the living room. It looks like the one in the bedroom ceiling, just deeper. Anna's head turns to follow her gaze.

"No!" the angel breathes, letting go of Jo as she stands up to face the crack. "No, not this, please Father, not this!"

"Is this the way out?" Jo asks, jumping to her feet. She starts walking towards the crack, her anger pushing her fear aside. Anna's hand warps around her wrist, holding her back.

"Please don't," the angel begs. "We're good here, nothing can hurt you. We're happy together, aren't we? Please, trust me. Stay here with me."

With her free hand, Jo grabs the lamp next to the couch, furiously throws it at the crack. The whole wall crumbles. The white wallpaper falls down in strips and bursts into flames as it touches the floor and Jo watches the dark, terrifying hole the lamp made as it seems to be quickly swallowing the wall. The black emptiness draws her up, sucks her inexorably in as Anna's scream rings into her ears.

She understands now. Death by hellhound. A one-way ticket straight to Hell. Anna hadn't made it there in time to save her, but she'd followed her into the Pit instead. She'd build this sanctuary around them to protect her from the horrors that lay beyond its walls, and she had wrapped her in love and lies.

Anna had given her something beautiful, and Jo destroyed it. As the ugly truth swallows her up, she closes her eyes and weeps.


End file.
